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Lidstrom discouraged by lack of progress

Detroit Red Wings v Phoenix Coyotes

GLENDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 06: Nicklas Lidstrom #5 of the Detroit Red Wings in action during the NHL game against the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena on February 6, 2012 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Red Wings 3-1. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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Nicklas Lidstrom will miss his eighth consecutive contest on Wednesday and it sounds like this won’t be his last game on the sidelines. He took a puck to his ankle on Feb. 25 and hasn’t played since. The good news is that there’s no fracture, but the area is still swollen more than two weeks later. He tried skating on Wednesday, but Lidstrom said that ended after “just a few minutes” because it the area was “more sore.”

The Detroit Red Wings have started to consider shutting Lidstrom down for a bit.

“We’ve talked about it,” he said. “I’m sure they’ll talk more to the coaching staff and see what the next step will be, but it’s still day-to-day. It’s discouraging that I haven’t started feeling better, as it’s going on two weeks now.”

Detroit has grown accustomed to having Lidstrom in the lineup. Since he broke into the league in 1991-92, the Red Wings have almost never been forced to play without him. Maybe that’s part of the reason why Detroit is just 3-4-0 since he got injured, although to be fair, he’s not the only star player to spend time in Detroit’s sickbay recently.

Either way, the Red Wings will have to get use to playing without Lidstrom eventually. His longevity has been remarkable and he might even decide to play beyond this season. However, he’ll be 42 in April, so it’s fair to say that Lidstrom’s going to hang up his skates sooner rather than later.